Google’s OnHub and IFTTT will now connect all of your dumb ‘smart home’ junk

IFTTT lets users create ‘recipes’ that trigger actions based on initiators. When you arrive home, your phone may connect to Wi-Fi via OnHub. From there, it can do things like turn on connect Hue lights or send a message to your roommates or significant other that you’re home.

Of course, OnHub’s IFTTT recipes must be created manually, so there’s a bit of legwork involved.

IFTTT was always a workaround for direct automation, but it’s even more curious with OnHub. At Google I/O last year, Google announced Brillo and Weave, its own method for connecting smart devices together for this type of automation.

Either Google is giving up on Brillo and Weave (which they dubbed a ‘project’ at I/O, so that wouldn’t be surprising, but I really hope not), or uptake has been slower than it likes. Either way, IFTTT is still a cool workaround, and is infinitely more useful than Brillo and Weave in today’s connected world.